Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 111980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
But then, as long as I don’t advertise my feelings at work, I’ll be fine. Even after I ask her to be my girl on Saturday night. Even when I tell her how I feel. It’s just best to make sure the workplace isn’t a love fest.
“Yes, ma—Miss Rivers.”
“Karen is fine,” she says.
“Thanks, Karen,” I say, then leave, heading home to let out my dog.
Home. It feels that way. The faint scent of cinnamon lingers on the towel Chloe used this morning from the bodywash I bought for her, and it mingles with the clean smell of freshly bathed dog swirling around my guy.
After a quick walk around the block, I settle in on the couch, the furry guy nudging my leg, craving some attention. Chloe won’t be here for a few more minutes, so I grab my tablet and review the plans for tomorrow’s Dog Day Afternoon as I pet Mister Dog.
The event at the community pool has ballooned. When Alexandra learned about it, she arched a brow and said, “We should set up a photo op with Jubilee.”
That sounded like a perfect way to connect the show to Dog Tails and to Chloe’s business, which is also sponsoring the event. I gave the only response I could: “Let’s do it.”
It’s since turned into a bigger photo opportunity with Saffron, Ava, and Veronica planning to attend, too, along with the director and the writer. Alexandra will be there as well, and some of the guest stars for the next episode.
Bring it on. Let them see what we’ve built at Dog Tails and with Chloe’s Paw-sitive Dog Training.
Now, I scroll through my email and spot a new one from Alexandra. It’s a list of items Jubilee’s handler says the little star will need tomorrow.
Fresh water for drinking. Easy.
An umbrella so she doesn’t get too hot. Fair.
And…no tennis balls within ten feet. Okay. I can ask Levi and Hazel to monitor tennis ball placement. They’ll love that.
I write them a text—pretty sure email for them is like a black hole—and schedule it to send in the early morning.
That done, I set the tablet down and scratch my dog behind his ears. My dog. I’m still getting used to that. But it’s another thing that feels just right.
“What do you think, Mister Dog? You happy here?”
The fox-like pooch rests his snout on my leg. I take that as a yes.
“Yeah, me too.”
* * *
The next day, I’m hanging out by the deep end of the pool, my shades on, wearing a short-sleeved button-down that’s safe for work since my tattoo has faded, and surveying the scene as Zuri hands out pup-sicles for the pooches near the shallow end. The sun is shining brightly, the dogs are splish-splashing in the pool, and the place is packed. Every pool chair is occupied—and everyone has their phone out, snapping pics and videos of the dogs. Easily a hundred—maybe two hundred—people are here today, with their pets cannonballing into the cool water so they can chill out on a hot August day.
Hazel and Levi are in their element, tending to the no-ball zone around Jubilee, who sits properly in a lawn chair, her handler by her side, under an umbrella, a few feet from the lifeguard stand by the deep end. Corinne keeps a hand on the chair, ready to snatch the star from harm if need be, but also gives her the space she needs as the guest of honor. A line snakes around the deep end of fans patiently waiting for a chance for a picture.
A photographer I hired for the event snaps pics of people with Jubilee—the guy who owns the bookstore, Delilah from the tattoo parlor, Callie, the manager of Pick Me Up, and even Dottie Birch from The Horny House, who flashes the biggest smile I’ve ever seen, then hands the cutie back to Corinne.
Chloe weaves past some people in line and moves next to me. “This is going great,” she whispers to me as dogs paddle in the water, chasing rope toys and Frisbees, while others cavort around the edge of the glistening blue water, waiting for a turn to dive back in.
Briefly, I wonder if Jubilee wants to take a dip. But that doesn’t seem like her thing. She’s content to sit and pose. As Katrina from The Sweet Spot slides next to Jubilee for a pic, I say to Chloe, “It’s unbelievable.”
She flashes me a knowing grin as I use our word from the first night we met. She’s unbelievable. What we’ve built is unbelievable. That we’ve made this work is unbelievable.
And, fuck it, I rest a hand on her back. Feels good. Feels right. So good and so right, I steal the chance to swipe a strand of hair from her cheek and tuck it behind her ear.